Book after Book

By Rose Tremain Published by Vintage Synopsis: Wallis Simpson, the twice-divorced American woman for whom Edward Vlll abdicated in 1936, ended her life as the prisoner of her lawyer who would not allow anyone - friend, foe or journalist - to visit her in her Paris flat. Rose Tremain takes this true story and transforms it into an imaginative and ironic fiction. Her thesis is that Wallis, gaga and bed-ridden, has forgotten the king who gave up an empire for love of her.  The other stories in this magnificent collection range over a variety of themes, equally original and unexpected. An East German border guard, redundant after the Berlin Wall comes down in 1989, imagines that he might still have a purpose in life: he tries to reach Russia by bicycling across the hostile wastes of Poland. A jilted man gets his revenge. A baby grows wings. A character in an Impressionist painting escapes from his 'frame' - or does he? And there's a Christmas story set in a seedy hotel…

Hi Melanie ! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Little Darlings ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Little Darlings is a modern setting of an ancient tale about Faery Changelings. What if Faeries were real and, given the chance, would take your babies if you left them alone? Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: I always know what happens at the beginning and the end. The middle is that part that takes some working out. What kind of research, if any, did you have to carry out while you were writing this novel? In general, is research something you enjoy or a means to an end? A: I had to research several areas: changeling folklore, medical detail, police procedure, the history and construction of reservoirs – especially those with drowned villages in them. I do enjoy it, and I’d hate to get anything wrong. If th

By Sophie Kinsella Published by Transworld Books Synopsis: Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely-there stain, helping out a friend… she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname, after all.  So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU – but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour. That is, until her teenage crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and needs her help – and Fixie turns to Seb. But things don’t go according to plan, and now Fixie owes Seb: big time. Soon the pair are caught up in a series of IOUs – from small favours to life-changing debts – and Fixie is torn between the past she’s used to and the future she deserves. Does she have the courage to fix things for herself and fight for the life, and love, she really w

Welcome to the blog tour for Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure by Sue Wickstead ! J ay-Jay the Supersonic Bus is not an ordinary bus taking you on a journey. He is a Playbus. Find out what happens when he is invited to an island where the children have never seen a double-decker bus - and certainly not one full of toys! Having read this introduction, I immediately knew I wanted to be part of this blog tour and find out more about Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus. There is definitely something fascinating about repurposed buses… whether they are turned into libraries, tea rooms or party venues! So let’s learn something more about what inspired the creation of this beloved character… 'Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure' was originally written for a Scottish book bus. 'Play, Talk, Read' was the project which visited remote areas of Scotland to encourage reading in the very young. It was a great success and the bus even visited the Shetland Islands travelling on a very sma

By David Quantick Published by Unbound Digital Synopsis: GO WEST is a novel about Charlie Bread, self-styled Antiques Whisperer and forgery hunter. When Charlie is sent on the trail of a mysterious document that may have been written by the inventor of Peter Pan, his life becomes a road movie full of pursuit and intrigue, soundtracked by old John Peel shows, the beautiful Penelope, and a game of high road hide-and-seek all across the West Country. In a world where nothing is what it seems, Bread has to find out the truth – before the truth finds him out. How did this book end up in my hands? Another awesome serialisation by The Pigeonhole , which I am now officially addicted to! Was it a page-turner? The serialisation spanned ten days and I was comfortable with the reading pace. I sometimes would have loved to be able to read more but I appreciated the time I had to make up my own conjectures!  Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? Thi

By Madeline Miller Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing Synopsis: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.  When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home. There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide wh

A few months ago I become engrossed in the series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix. Of course, I had heard of her before but I had never paid much attention as I’ve always been relatively tidy and I’ve been watching my mum fold clothes to perfection since I was a child. With a baby on the way, limited storage and lots of new stuff to accommodate, I have however been looking for a way to optimise the space around me. Enter Marie Kondo and things have definitely improved. So much, in fact, that I wanted to deepen my understanding of her method and decided to listen to her audiobook, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying . This is not a post about the changes in my home though. Because of the criticism this adorable tidying expert has received for saying that she has reduced her collection to 30 books and implying that we shouldn’t need many more than that, I have decided to share a few snippets of her book-related theories along with my thoughts. So let’s begin: Books are

By Susan Lewis Published by HarperCollins Synopsis: With a high-flying job, a beautiful apartment and friends whose lives are as happy as her own, Vivienne Shager is living the dream. Then, on the afternoon of Vivi’s twenty-seventh birthday, one catastrophic minute changes everything. Forced to move back to the small seaside town where she grew up, Vivi remembers the reasons she left. The secrets, lies and questions that now must be answered before it’s too late. But the answers lie in thirty years in the past… Shelley Raynor’s family home, Deerwood Farm, has always been a special place until darkness strikes at its heart. When Vivi’s and Shelley’s worlds begin to entwine, it only takes a moment for the truth to unravel all of their lives. How did this book end up in my hands? I have read this book via an online serialisation by The Pigeonhole . Was it a page-turner? I liked the author’s writing style since the very first paragraphs but I found it hard to get i